AFP: Iran’s foreign ministry criticised a UN committee on Wednesday for passing a resolution condemning its human rights record, and accused the West of using the issue for political gain.
Iran condemns UN panel’s rights resolution
Iran: Uranium enrichment to be speeded up
AP: Iran will step up its uranium enrichment program by sharply increasing the number of centrifuges used to make nuclear fuel, a senior official said Wednesday, in direct defiance of Western demands.
Iran welcomes UK decision barring arms case extradition
Reuters: Iran’s Foreign Ministry has welcomed the decision of a British court not to extradite a former Iranian diplomat wanted by the United States after he was caught in a sting operation trying to export night-vision weapons’ sights to Iran.
Senate works on new package of Iran sanctions
Reuters: New sanctions aimed at reducing global trade with Iran in the energy, shipping and metals sectors may soon be considered by the U.S. Senate as part of an annual defense policy bill, senators and aides said on Tuesday.
UN nuclear agency reports being hacked
AP: A group called “Parastoo” — Farsi for the swallow bird and a common Iranian girl’s name — claimed responsibility for posting the names on its website two days ago.
Iran tanker cargo investigated off Greek coast amid EU ban
Bloomberg: Sekavin SA, a Greek fuel supplier, said it’s investigating the origin of a cargo aboard an Iranian tanker off the Mediterranean island of Syros amid a European Union ban on purchases from the Middle East nation.
Graph suggests Iran working on bomb
AP: Iranian scientists have run computer simulations for a nuclear weapon that would produce more than triple the explosive force of the World War II bomb that destroyed Hiroshima, according to a diagram obtained by The Associated Press.
U.N. committee condemns Syria, Iran for rampant rights abuses
Reuters: A U.N. General Assembly committee on Tuesday condemned Syria and Iran for widespread human rights abuses, but both Damascus and Tehran dismissed the separate votes as politically motivated.
Iran may slash oil sales outlook, store more as sanctions bite
Bloomberg: Iran may base its budget for the next fiscal year on anticipated exports of 1 million barrels a day of oil, half that shipped in 2011, Fars news agency reported, citing the head of the parliament’s economic committee.
Iran’s nuclear stockpile grows but not yet in “danger zone”
Reuters: An increase in Iran’s higher-grade uranium stockpile is worrying but may arise from a bottleneck in making reactor fuel rather than a bid to quickly accumulate material that could be used for nuclear weapons, diplomats and experts say.
